A/N: And this little one-shot is the product of a random thought my friend Mikkie (sup3rfcutie1234 on Twitter) had when we were chatting with each other one lazy Tuesday afternoon because school was off and we were bored.
Enjoy :)
"Always."
Eyeing the array of Slytherins gathered in the Great Hall distastefully, Draco shifted his robes so they would not touch Crabbe's and Goyle's.
Stupid, mindless idiots.
All of the Slytherins fourth year and above were gathered in the Great Hall, awaiting Professor Snape who had ordered that they all be there without fail. Normally Draco would not have deigned to go. But Snape had said that if anyone had skipped, he would deduct fifty points from Slytherin because of them.
Draco's bottom lip curled into a sneer as he balled his fists near his side, thinking of what – or rather who – he would rather be doing right now.
The girls on the opposite end of the hall shuffled nervously, clinging to each other and tittering, looking at some of the boys lined up against the wall lustfully, no doubt imagining them sine vestibus.
Towards the left end of the girls' line, the fourth year girls stood among themselves, talking in low voices and sneaking looks at Draco.
He puffed out his chest and saw Pansy roll her eyes at his antics, grimacing at the hair that had collected on Bulstrode's shoulder and inching away from her.
Her eyes travelled up and down his body seductively and Draco felt his trousers become uncomfortably tight.
She bit her lip.
The damn witch, he thought as he stood there uncomfortably, watching Pansy who grinned triumphantly and went back to talking to Daphne about something.
He fidgeted with his robes, arranging them once more so they would hide the bulge in his trousers. Zabini caught him and groaned, his head falling.
"Shove off, Blaise." Draco snapped good-naturedly.
"How would you feel if you caught your best mate shagging a girl?" He demanded, wheeling on him.
Draco smirked. "You deserved it; you lying, snooping bastard."
"I was not snooping! I wanted to sleep so I came up to the dormitory and saw you fucking Parkinson on top of your fucking bed without drawing the fucking curtains! That's not snooping." He exclaimed hotly, rubbing his eyes vigorously as if to get the image out of his brain.
Draco chuckled. "You keep telling yourself that, Zabini."
Groaning dramatically, Blaise's head fell into his hands the minute the doors of the Great Hall banged open and their Head of House strode inside, his black robes billowing around him. Almost immediately, Draco noticed a change in the House.
The girls stopped talking to each other. The boys tucked in their shirts and tightened their ties. They all straightened up and stood immovably, waiting for the Potion teacher's approval.
With a critical eye, he scanned the rows of the girls standing against the wall first. The corners of his mouth quirked upwards in what looked like a displeasing manner, but, the Slytherins had learned, was actually a borderline smile, as it was well-known he never smiled entirely.
The upwards turn of his mouth vanished when his disapproving gaze landed on the fourth year girls, and in particular, the lack of one. Draco cursed the missing witch heavily in his head using the most colourful language he could think of.
"Fifty points from Slytherin due to the absence of Miss Tracey Davis." He announced silkily before turning to the boys lined up smartly against the opposite wall. Draco heard muttered, disgruntled grumbling from Pansy and couldn't help but let a small smile escape. Snape's eyes lingered too long on him and he began to sweat, but the Professor moved on and Draco released a breath he didn't know he had been holding.
He liked Uncle Severus much more than he liked Professor Snape.
Snape's eyes narrowed when they reached the line of fifth year boys, and Draco began cursing again. That stupid bint Tracey Davis was foolish enough to be holed up in some broom closet with her lover, who was unknown until then to her friends. Draco exchanged a gleeful look with Blaise and waited.
"An additional fifty points from Slytherin due to the absence of Mister Adrian Pucey." He drawled. Draco looked at Blaise in shock. He hadn't expected Tracey to be shagging Pucey – they'd both thought it was Higgs. However, Tracey was oldest in their year and Pucey was one of the youngest in his – their age difference wasn't mighty.
Draco may have been a Slytherin, but he drew some lines when it came to sex. Had Pucey been more than a year and three months older than Davis, he would've hexed him into a month of Sundays. And then jinxed her as well.
"Mr Malfoy." Snape's voice was commanding, although low in volume. Draco straightened involuntarily.
"Yes, Professor?" He asked politely.
"Am I to assume that Miss Davis and Mister Pucey are…" he paused delicately, "…together?"
They both knew he wasn't referring to them dating. Draco knew answering the question truthfully would result in the loss of more house points. But he also knew that Professor Snape was a skilled Legilimens, and would deduct additional house points because of Draco if he found out he had lied to him.
"Yes, Professor."
Snape nodded once, musing. "Another fifty points from Slytherin. Request Miss Davis and Mister Pucey to meet me in my office after curfew tonight."
A collective groaning erupted at the loss of more house points. Draco rolled his eyes. Davis should've known better than to ignore a direct summons from the Potions Professor.
Snape turned abruptly on his heel and walked forward to where he could see all of the Slytherins lined up in front of him. He watched them for a few short minutes before Pansy raised her hand in lieu of asking a question. He called on her.
"Professor, is there a specific reason we have been called today?" She asked. Draco supposed it was a genuine question. Snape often summoned the entire Slytherin house out of the blue to inspect something or test the general knowledge of their subjects so that their House would stay on top of the school.
"Yes, Miss Parkinson. As you all know, and are very excited for, I imagine, the Yule Ball is right around the corner."
A tittering broke out among the girls and Draco saw Blaise drop his head in mock agony next to him. He grinned.
"And I, as the Head of your House, have taken it upon myself that you shall all dance at the ball. We are here for a ballroom dancing lesson, and under no circumstances will any of you leave this Hall until I am satisfied with the results."
Draco's eyes nearly bugged out of his head and he heard a seventh year chortle in amusement at the end of the line. The girls looked at each other warily and Pansy looked like she wanted to hurl herself out through the doors and never come back.
Snape waved his hand and the doors slammed shut. "I have placed a charm on the door that I suspect only Miss Granger of the Gryffindor House will know how to counter, the insufferable swot. You will not leave until you know how to dance. Is that understood?"
Draco scowled at the mention of the Mudblood's name, nodding mutely in perfect synchronisation with the rest of the Slytherins. Snape looked pleased.
"All right, then." He announced. "Miss Parkinson, if you will."
Pansy's face turned ashen and she stepped out of the neat row of girls on the left wall of the Hall, hesitantly making her way forward to Snape. The Professor's eyes flashed and connected briefly with Draco's and the boy knew instantly that he asked Pansy to dance with him to mock Draco. He narrowed his eyes at the Potions teacher.
"Your left hand on my shoulder, Miss Parkinson." Snape instructed. She looked scandalized, bringing her hand up to rest gingerly on his shoulder. Her hand barely touched him at all.
"Despite popular opinion, Miss Parkinson, touching me will not result in your immediate death. Place your left hand on my shoulder. Now." He sneered.
She dropped her hand, and laid it carefully on his shoulder, trying not to touch the bare skin of his neck.
"Your right hand in mine, Miss Parkinson." He told her, holding out his left hand. Whatever colour that was left in her face drained.
"W – what?"
"For Salazar's sake, Miss Parkinson. Take my left hand with your right. And do not be a sop about it."
Her hand trembling, she placed it in the outstretched palm of the Potions professor. Draco's eyes followed every move keenly. She shot him a helpless look like a deer caught in headlights and he scowled.
He detected a smirk on Snape's face.
She almost howled when Snape's right hand closed around her waist tightly. Draco nearly exploded with rage and Blaise gripped his shoulders, pulling him back away from the wall.
"Easy, mate." He muttered. "Once he's done showing us how to dance he'll let go of her."
Draco struggled against the boy, but Blaise's hold was iron and unyielding. He gripped Draco's shoulders with an intensity that was only brought out when he was with the blonde Slytherin, and held him until he stopped trying to wrench free.
Snape waved his wand once in the air and a waltz began to play. He led Pansy in a dizzying dance around the Great Hall.
"Useless, Miss Parkinson." He scolded. "Follow me, do not step on my toes. Honestly, you'd think an orthodox Pureblood would know how to waltz." He muttered.
Draco saw her scowl, and he knew she could dance like the most graceful ballerina. It was just that nobody – nobody – could or would ever dance with Severus Snape willingly.
His hand was clenched tightly around the girl's waist, but it had loosened as they danced. Unlike what the Slytherins saw, Severus was nervous about waltzing.
"Oh, don't be a sod, Severus!" The red-haired, green-eyed girl laughed, pulling his hand towards her small waist. "It's easy! Just follow me, and then we can take a turn with me following you.
He hoped to dear Merlin he wasn't teaching them anything wrong. It was her right hand in his left one, correct?
Merlin sod it all, he couldn't remember if it was the other way around.
"I'm not going to bite!" She admonished. "Just let me put my hand in yours, and we'll be completely fine. You can lead! We can be Sleeping Beauty and Prince Phillip!"
He smiled nervously down at her, placing his sweaty palm in hers. She'd forced him to watch all her favourite Disney movies.
"But you're so much more beautiful than Aurora." He told her.
She blushed.
Miss Parkinson was not beautiful. Snape wondered what that godson of his ever thought – losing his virginity to the pug-nosed girl. He had seen, during his classes in fact, that only a look from Pansy was enough to suspend Draco in a state of arousal, and Snape curled his bottom lip in disgust. He needed to teach Draco what beauty was.
She was the only princess in his eyes. Tugging at his arms until he put them around her as they played with each other, taking on the roles of Prince Charming and Cinderella.
They waltzed with each other, Severus finally having gotten it right, and they swayed to Chopin, a Muggle musician. Instinctively, he twirled and dipped her, catching her before she could fall. She smiled suddenly at him, and they righted each other, dancing together once again.
"Professor Snape?" The girl asked him nervously. "The waltz music has ended. May I return to my friends?"
Somewhat embarrassingly, Severus noted that the waltz had come to an end. Nodding, he let his arms fall back to his side and she scurried back to the other fourth-year girls. He almost snorted at her ungainly and rushed pace.
She walked like she was gliding over air, her head held high and not a slouch in her posture. Never too fast, and never too slow. That was how she danced, like a willowy flower in the gentle breeze. She was the definition of beauty and grace.
They danced together when their fourth year ended, and he had mastered it, because he had been practicing by himself. He caught her effortlessly when she dipped, and she grinned up at him, pleased.
"At this rate, you won't have much trouble finding a girlfriend, Severus." Her eyes, so green and wonderful, teased him. "If you dance this well, that is."
He smiled crookedly at her, wishing he could tell her how much he wanted her, and not anyone else. But he kept his silence, like he had for the past four years.
"Choose a partner!" He announced to the room. "You will all practice and will not leave until you have mastered it."
He almost gagged at how fast Pansy threw herself into Draco, and his arms closed around her possessively, glaring at anyone who even looked at her. They were so close there wasn't an inch of space between them, and they were the most skilled couple in the room, dancing and gliding across the room flawlessly to the plucked music that he had produced from his wand once again.
He would expect nothing less of Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy's son, and Charles and Elizabeth Parkinson's daughter.
At the end of the song, nearly twenty minutes later, he saw the two of them finish their routine perfectly, familiar as they were with the song. He also watched every other couple in the Great Hall falter with their ending, off by two or three beats.
For a brief moment, as Draco bowed to Pansy, and she curtseyed girlishly to him after the song ended, he saw a girl with red hair and green eyes curtsey deeply in front of a boy with black hair and black eyes as he bowed to her.
Swallowing, he turned away from the vision, and focused instead on scolding the sixth-year half-blood couple next to him who had ended their dance atrociously.
A/N: Thoughts? Like? No like?
Do you want me to continue Dransy? Do you want me to continue Snily?
Should I continue this, should I not? Leave me a review letting me know if you liked it or not and whether you want me to continue it. If you do want me to continue it, tell me what you want to see!
Believe in the one love and stay amazing :)
Mimi.